Hoeven: Grand Forks Air Force Base Selected for Deployment, Testing & Assessment of Counter-UAS Tech

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of War (DoW) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) selected the Grand Forks Air Force Base as one of four sites for the deployment, testing and operational assessment of counter-drone systems, including high-powered microwave, laser or similar technologies. This announcement builds upon Hoeven’s ongoing efforts as a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee to make counter-drone a cornerstone of U.S. defense strategy, leveraging North Dakota’s expertise in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to help protect against the misuse of unmanned aircraft. Hoeven stressed that the following priorities were key in securing Grand Forks’ selection for the pilot program: Project ULTRA. Hoeven established and funded Project ULTRA, which is working to quickly develop cost-effective measures to detect and neutralize threats from unmanned aircraft. Point Defense Battle Lab. Hoeven worked with Air Force leadership to advance Grand Forks’ selection for the battle lab , which will test and validate advanced technologies to defend installations from small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) threats. T-REX event at Camp Grafton. T-REX will provide companies with promising counter-UAS technology the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities and allow DoW to determine if it should procure their systems. Hoeven secured Camp Grafton as the location for the T-REX event, having made the case for this initiative to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Recruiting Companies like AeroVironment to the region’s high-tech ecosystem. Last year, AeroVironment acquired BlueHalo, a company that Hoeven worked to partner with the Sky Range program and Grand Forks Air Force Base, having secured a total of nearly $16 million for those efforts. The company has since been expanding their presence in the state, including bringing its directed energy system to North Dakota, which laid the foundation for the kinds of operations and technology being assessed by the new DoW pilot program. “The Grand Forks Air Force Base is the natural choice for this new DoW-FAA pilot program, which will test high-powered, directed energy technologies for counter-UAS. We’ve been laying the groundwork for this kind of initiative through efforts like Project ULTRA, the Point Defense Battle Lab and the upcoming T-REX event at Camp Grafton. In fact, AeroVironment, a company we recruited to work with Project ULTRA, has already deployed its directed energy technology in North Dakota for this same purpose, giving our state a head start,” said Hoeven. “We appreciate the DoW for continuing to work with us on establishing new partnerships and opportunities for counter-UAS work in the state.” -###-